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Henson got graphic

Discovered in the archives of The Jim Henson Company, A Tale of Sand is an original graphic novel adaptation of an unproduced, feature-length screenplay written by the late Jim Henson and his frequent writing partner, Jerry Juhl. The story follows scruffy everyman Mac, who wakes up in an unfamiliar town and is chased across the desert of the American Southwest by all manner of man and beast of unimaginable proportions.

Henson’s own note introducing the screenplay describes the work as a surrealistic comedy-drama, and that it is! There is very little dialogue in the story, relying on artist Ramon Perez to convey the endlessly bizarre events and Mac’s reactions to them. Perez does not disappoint. The panel arrangements are structured with a realistic color scheme when appropriate and an explosion of frenetically arranged panels, varied illustration techniques and strange color schemes when the story is at its most surreal and chaotic.

Lots of thought and effort went into this work, right down to the font based on Henson’s on handwriting. Sturdy binding, high-quality paper, and notes with background on the story, Henson, Juhl and Perez. Recommended for readers of strange and/or cerebral graphic novels, Jim Henson fans and anyone looking for “something different.”